


Memories of Mist and Maple

by Chromata



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Before Fates, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, Military Backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-27 15:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7623952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromata/pseuds/Chromata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuugiri meets a sky knight who admires her and discovers why holding fellow soldiers close to one's heart is discouraged.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Maple

_“Kaede!”_

_It was too late.  Kaede’s mount had already taken the hit and they were falling, falling—_

_Crash.  Crunch.  Deafening screams._

_A falcon knight had already gone after Kaede, seeing if healing was a possibility, but Yuugiri knew from seeing other mounted soldiers, enemy and friend alike, fall: it was over.  Kaede was dead or dying and nothing could be done about it._

 

The first time Yuugiri met Kaede was when she and her captain were touring the official Hoshidan Sky Knight facilities, seeing if there were any promising candidates among them.  Yuugiri knew why she had been dragged along instead of being allowed to go kill Faceless like she wanted to: Captain Tsunehiko considered Yuugiri the best candidate to succeed her, no matter how much she would deny it if asked.  She didn’t do this with anyone else, after all.  The concept of this being sexual or romantic interest was far too unprofessional to imagine for Captain Tsunehiko.  

Few of the sky knights they had seen seemed anywhere near ready to promote.  She figured it was probably for the best; there were enough members of the Hoshidan Kinshi Knights already, and the Hoshidan Falcon Knights were near capacity.  Many of the sky knights were new recruits fresh from training, brought in by a recruiting campaign several months prior; few looked older than eighteen.

“A-are you…”  One of the oldest of the new recruits, a wiry twenty-something whose gender Yuugiri couldn’t determine, ran up to her, eyes wide.

“Captain Tsunehiko, Hoshidan Kinshi Knights,” Captain Tsunehiko replied.

The sky knight ignored the captain.  “You’re Yuugiri, aren’t you?  I’ve heard things about you!”

Yuugiri knew that there were stories of her out there, although the veracity of said stories was debatable; while stationed in Nohr she had also heard stories of a man who had thrown someone so high into the air that they never came back down.  “Indeed, I am Knight Yuugiri.”  She saw her superior look at her, frustrated; no one ever recognized Captain Tsunehiko, although that might have had more to do with Captain Tsunehiko not being as flamboyant as some of her soldiers.

“I’m Kaede,” the sky knight replied.

The name didn’t ring a bell for Yuugiri.  Perhaps Kaede was one of the knights they were supposed to see fly later.  “Nice to meet you, Knight Kaede.  Are you flying later?”

Kaede nodded.  “It’s nice to actually meet members of the Kinshi Knights.  I’ve admired you all since I found out about you!”

A smile slipped onto Yuugiri’s face.  “I was the same way when I first joined the Sky Knights.”  Kaede’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“Train hard enough and you might become one of us,” Captain Tsunehiko added.  “It’ll take a few years, of course—“

Kaede smiled.  “Trust me, I will.”

 

After watching the afternoon’s exercises Yuugiri concluded that the enthusiastic knight she and Captain Tsunehiko had met was the most likely to ever be promoted.  Kaede’s work ethic rivaled that of Princess Hinoka; the knight’s form with a naginata and mounted was flawless as well.  This upstart might be ready in as little as two years.

“Hm, Knight Kaede is respectable,” Captain Tsunehiko remarked.  “Wouldn’t you say?”

“I was thinking the same, Captain,” Yuugiri replied.

“Nice to know I’ll have a name to remember from this visit.”  The captain gave a rare smile.  “Feel free to take a break; I know you’d prefer to be slashing throats.  This must be exhausting.”

Yuugiri bowed her head to her captain.  “Thank you very much.  How long?”

“Until dinner; we will be eating in the mess hall and then we’ll fly back to base.”

She nodded and went outside to wander the grounds, eventually settling under a fullmoon maple.  She dozed a bit, exhausted from both the nature of her day and the early wake-up call that had accompanied this visit.

“Knight Yuugiri?” a familiar voice intoned from above.

Yuugiri jolted to full consciousness.  “Knight Kaede?”  She looked above; the younger knight was sitting on a high branch.  “What are you doing up there?”

“I like high places.”  The sky knight clambered down.  “Sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s fine.”

Kaede looked away for a moment and then looked back at Yuugiri.  “So… do you mind if I ask you some questions about your time as a knight?”

Yuugiri smiled a bit.  “Feel free.”

 

Nearly an hour passed.  Yuugiri had dispelled some myths about herself to Kaede, although to her dismay she had had to confirm others.  Now the young knight was gazing at her with more awe than when they had first met.  However, while Yuugiri was here she felt a need to collect a bit of information to bring back to Captain Tsunehiko.

“Knight Kaede, what inspired you to become a sky knight, anyway?”

Kaede smiled a bit.  “I like flying and I like killing Faceless.  It’s the perfect profession!”  The sky knight smiled more, but Yuugiri found something strange in that smile.  It was almost as if this happy knight was lying to her.

She started slow.  “You realize that you’re going to have to kill actual people, correct?  War with Nohr is inevitable; we just don’t know when.”

Kaede nodded.

“Fair enough; I started out with killing Faceless as well.”  She smiled a bit, hoping that that softened the sky knight up for further questioning.  Further questioning, however, was interrupted by the dinner bell.  “Ah, time to get to the mess hall.”

“Woo, time to see what they’re passing off as food now…” the younger knight muttered.

Yuugiri couldn’t help but laugh.  “You asked for it when you signed up; that’s part of military life.”  With that, she accompanied the young knight down to the mess hall.

 

“Knight Yuugiri, I have a couple of questions for you,” Captain Tsunehiko said as soon as the two had returned to the Kinshi Knight facility.

“Yes, Captain?”

“First, what happened to lead you and Knight Kaede to the mess hall together?”

Yuugiri blushed a bit.  “I fell asleep under a tree.  Knight Kaede happened to be sitting in said tree and was excited to see me.”

Captain Tsunehiko laughed a bit.  “Knight Kaede has a case of hero worship, clearly.”  After a moment she continued, “Knowing that it was a pure incident and not some sort of perversion on your end—although I know you would never do that—I was wondering if maybe you could keep an eye on that young knight.  A firm mentor could speed along the process of promotion, and although Knight Kaede is a hard worker already I get the feeling you’ll be a source of encouragement.”

Yuugiri nodded.  “Yes, Captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a bit of RPing I did on Tumblr with robinisravishing.


	2. Apple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuugiri and Kaede share apples and conversation under a tree.

Yuugiri, at Captain Tsunehiko’s request, began sending letters to Kaede every few weeks, checking in on the sky knight.  She always got an enthusiastic response, detailing the various improvements Kaede had made in training.  Kaede getting a steel naginata.  Kaede getting and naming a permanent mount.  Kaede learning the classic naginata twirl trick that Princess Hinoka used to show off.  It was almost surreal how quickly Kaede was maturing as a sky knight.  It felt like watching a child grow up.

Six months of letters passed and Captain Tsunehiko took Yuugiri out to the Sky Knight facilities again, but this time Yuugiri was excited for the trip.  There had to be a visible difference in the knight she’d taken under her wing.

Upon landing she saw that there was indeed a visible difference, but it wasn’t what Yuugiri had expected.  Kaede was more muscular and had shorter hair, but that was it.

“Knight Yuugiri!” the sky knight said as soon as Yuugiri had dismounted.  “I brought you a gift!”  Kaede picked up a basket and handed it to Yuugiri, warm brown eyes gazing into Yuugiri's own.  “I picked them this morning.”

Yuugiri noticed the weight of the basket and looked inside to discover a large quantity of apples.  “Thank you, Knight Kaede.  This is quite kind of you.”

Captain Tsunehiko looked back and forth between the two of them, but stayed silent.

 

After dinner Yuugiri and Kaede went out to the fullmoon maple, sat down, and started eating apples.

“You’ve really grown, you know,” Yuugiri said before taking a bite of her apple.

“I know, right?”  Kaede beamed.  “Your encouragement helped, you know!”

“Thank you, but you did all the hard work yourself.  You should be proud of yourself; I’m proud of you.”

Kaede stopped eating and fixated on Yuugiri.  “I…”

“Ah, my apologies.  I didn’t mean to startle you there.”

Kaede finished chewing and replied, “It’s okay.  It’s just… it’s weird to get praise like that.”

Yuugiri smiled a bit.  “The captains of the Sky Knights can get a bit stern.”

“No, that’s not it.  They’re fine.”  Kaede looked away.  “A lot of my family was killed by Faceless when I was little, and the rest of them had no love for me at all.  It’s weird to me to get praise at all.”

Several thoughts coursed through Yuugiri’s head.  _What is wrong with those people?  That poor child.  Absolutely no one?_   “I’m sorry.”

“I decided to become a sky knight to prove to them that I’m worth something… even if I don’t want to get married or be domestic or anything like that.”

This sounded vaguely familiar; Yuugiri _had_ abandoned the domestic life in favor of joining the Sky Knights herself, after all.  However, there was something that troubled her about it.  “To be honest, Kaede, I didn’t know you were female, but--”

“I’m not, but I’m not male either.”

This threw Yuugiri for a loop.  “Then… what are you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not either of those.”

Yuugiri nodded.  This explained a fair amount.  Kaede’s androgynous appearance was intentional, and the sky knight didn’t want anything to do with either set of expectations, leading to her remaining family being disgusted.  “My apologies for any mistakes I may have made.”

The response Yuugiri got was a head shake, Kaede's mahogany bangs, so similar to Yuugiri's own, occasionally fluttering in front of an eye.  “You’ve done everything right.  Thank you.”

Yuugiri blushed, her blush growing deeper once Kaede gave her a hug.  “You don’t need to thank me.  I’m happy to be here for you.”  She was.

 

Events went as planned, and Yuugiri and Captain Tsunehiko were off the ground the next evening, no new names to add to the list just yet.  Their flight was safe and, courtesy of a tailwind, they were back at the Kinshi Knight facility half an hour earlier than they expected.

“Knight Yuugiri, may I have a word with you?”

Yuugiri was checking that no apples had fallen out of the basket she had been given.  “Yes, Captain?”

“Do you know the significance of that gift?”

“I fear I do not.  It seemed to me like a gesture of good will toward a mentor, nothing further.”

“As you likely know, Knight Kaede is from the southern end of Hoshido.  In that particular region, a basket of apples is a gift to be given only to family.”

Yuugiri wasn’t surprised, in a way.  Kaede had treated Yuugiri as a parent for the duration of her visit to the Sky Knight facilities.  However, she knew what Captain Tsunehiko wanted to hear.  “I see… maybe I should rectify that.”

“That is your choice, but I believe it a good idea; getting attached to fellow soldiers is never a good idea.”  The captain nodded, as if to reinforce her point.  “Good night, Knight Yuugiri.”

“Good night, Captain.”  She grabbed the basket of apples and fed one to her kinshi, who crowed in appreciation.  Yuugiri had no intent of wrecking Kaede’s feelings.  Her sky knight had had it badly enough already.  It wasn’t romantic, so it wasn’t unprofessional to her knowledge.

Besides, Kaede was starting to feel like her own child, something she never knew she wanted.

 


End file.
